Trouser Cuff Accessory

ABSTRACT

A clothing accessory to be worn on the bottom cuffs of the wearer&#39;s trousers includes a sleeve or ring of fabric that folds over to cover the trouser cuffs. The fabric is held in place with a fastener such as a clip, which in preferred embodiments is fastened with permanent magnets that attract each other through the fabric and trouser leg, thus urging the layers of the sleeve together while allowing the user to easily apply a countervailing force to urge the fastener open and thereby allowing the accessory to be removed.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/580,246, filed Dec. 25, 2011 titled Trouser Cuff Accessory.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of clothing accessories and, more particularly, to the field of devices to be attached to the cuff of a pair of trousers to add decorative value and to protect the wearer's shoes from the trousers' potentially runny dye.

Those who wear dyed clothing, and blue jeans in particular, with white sneakers are well-acquainted with the problem of dye running from jeans or trousers onto the sneaker. This may be addressed with an easily attached accessory that would provide a barrier of fabric that does not itself include runny dye. Such an accessory could also feature decorative designs, thus affording the wearer an opportunity to further develop the style of his or her outfit.

Currently, no such accessory is available, and the next best solution to runny dye is to wash new clothes before wearing them. The wash-before-wearing technique is inconvenient since washing clothes takes time, energy, and money, and any of which, depending on the user's lifestyle, may be in tight supply. Additionally, the wash-before-wearing technique may not succeed completely in removing all of the dye that will come from new clothing, thereby allowing the user's shoes to be damaged anyway.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a clothing accessory attachable to the cuffs of a pair of trousers that protects the cuffs from damage, that prevents the running of dye onto the wearer's shoes, and that enables a wearer to demonstrate personal style.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A clothing accessory to be worn on the bottom cuffs of the wearer's trousers according to the present invention includes a sleeve or ring of fabric that folds over to cover the trouser cuffs. The fabric is held in place with a fastener such as a clip, which in preferred embodiments is fastened with permanent magnets that attract each other through the fabric and trouser leg, thus urging the layers of the sleeve together while allowing the user to easily apply a countervailing force to urge the fastener open, thereby allowing the accessory to be removed.

Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a clothing accessory that attaches to the ends of trouser legs and which protects the trouser leg ends from damage and that protects the wearer's shoes from the trousers' dye.

Another object of this invention is to provide a clothing accessory that attaches to the ends of trouser legs in order to provide a surface bearing a decorative design to enhance the stylistic appeal of a pair of trousers.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a clothing accessory that attaches to the ends of trouser legs in order to protect the wearer's trousers from damage resulting from contact with the user's shoe, for example the trouser leg being stepped on.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The foregoing general description of the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a clothing accessory according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in use on a pair of trousers;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the clothing accessory as in FIG. 1 removed from the trousers;

FIG. 3 a is an exploded view of the clothing accessory as in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 b is a front view of the clothing accessory as in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 a is another view of the clothing accessory as in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 b is a sectional view taken along line 4 b-4 b of FIG. 4 a;

FIG. 5 a is a top view of the clothing accessory as in FIG. 2 shown in a closed configuration; and

FIG. 5 b is a top view of the clothing accessory as in FIG. 2 shown in an open configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A clothing accessory according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 b of the accompanying drawings. The clothing accessory 8 is intended for use with a pair of trousers 10 having two legs 11 extending downwardly from a waist portion, each leg 11 terminating at a lower end or bottom cuff 11 a (FIG. 1). The trousers may be of any style of design for men, women, boys, girls or even animals. However, the most benefit is derived when the clothing accessory 8 is applied to trousers of a type most likely to be worn with white shoes and constructed of materials that tend to include runny dyes. The clothing accessory 8 includes a cuff protection sleeve 12 and at least one fastener 28 for coupling the sleeve 12 to a respective cuff 11 a of the trousers 10.

The cuff protection sleeve 12 includes an inner layer 14 and an outer layer 20 having respective lower edges that are connected so as to form a closed bottom 18. The connection between the lower edges of inner 12 and outer 20 layers is flexible and defines a longitudinal axis about which the inner 12 and outer 20 layers may be folded. Preferably, the sleeve 12 is a fabric material. Accordingly, the inner 12 and outer 20 layers may be generally parallel and adjacent to one another at the folded configuration (FIG. 2). An outer surface of the outer layer 20 may include indicia 13 that enable a user to customize the sleeve 12 to his or her personal style or that of an outfit. The indicia 13 may be a logo, a color, text, or the like.

The inner layer 14 and outer layer 20 include respective upper edges that are not connected and define a sleeve open top 16 at the folded configuration. At the folded configuration, there is space between the inner 12 and outer 20 layers of the sleeve 12 such that the sleeve 12 defines an interior area accessible through the sleeve open top 16.

Preferably, the sleeve 12 includes a configuration complementary to a configuration of a respective cuff 11 a of the pair of trousers 10 so as to receive the cuff 11 a into the sleeve interior area through the open top 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the sleeve 12 may include an annular or ring-shaped configuration similar to the annular configuration of a cuff 11 a of a trouser leg 11. The sleeve 12, however, may include a configuration that is length-adjustable so as to receive cuffs of varied circumference. More particularly, the sleeve 12 may have a generally linear configuration having opposed ends, the opposed ends being selectively coupled together with fasteners such that the circumference of the sleeve 12 may be selected and adjusted. The sleeve 12, therefore, may be moved between open (FIG. 5 b) and closed (FIG. 5 a) configurations. For instance, one end of the sleeve 12 may define a plurality of spaced apart holes while the opposed end may include a flange—such as a buckle, clasp, or other flange—configured to be received in a selected hole (FIG. 3 a). By selecting the length of the sleeve 12, a user may customize the annular configuration of the sleeve 12 for use with a selected pair of trousers 10.

The at least one fastener 28 may include a plurality of fasteners, each fastener 28 generally having the configuration of a clip. Each fastener 28 may include a first plate 30, a second plate 31, and a connector portion 33 that couples the plates together. Preferably, the connector portion 33 includes a generally flexible construction that enables the plates to move between a closed configuration at which the first 30 and second 31 plates are relatively adjacent one another and a generally open configuration at which the first 30 and second 31 plates are relatively displaced from one another.

An inner surface of each plate includes a respective magnet 30 a, 31 a such that the inner surfaces of the plates 30, 31 are magnetically attracted to one another. Specifically, the magnetic attraction of the plates causes each fastener to be normally biased toward the closed configuration. However, the magnetic attraction is such that it may be easily overcome by a user seeking to separate the first 30 and second 31 plates or move them toward the open configuration. A fastener 28 is configured to receive the sleeve 12 between respective plates 30, 31 at the open configuration and to sandwich the sleeve therebetween at the closed configuration.

In use, one sleeve 12 is coupled to a cuff 11 a of a pair of trousers 10. Specifically, the cuff 11 a may be inserted into the interior area defined by the sleeve 12. In some embodiments, the length of the sleeve 12 may be adjusted so as to more easily receive a cuff 11 a. Then, one or more fasteners 28 may be positioned so as to sandwich the cuff 11 a between first 30 and second 31 plates as described above. Accordingly, each sleeve 12 may be positioned so as to prevent damage to a trouser cuff 11 a which may otherwise occur from being stepped on or from running dye.

It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof. 

1. A clothing accessory for use with a pair of trousers having two leg portions with each leg portion terminating a bottom cuff, said accessory, comprising: a cuff protection sleeve having an inner layer and an outer layer, said cuff protection sleeve having a closed bottom and defining an open top and interior area between said inner layer and said outer layer; wherein said interior area of said cuff protection sleeve is configured to receive a respective bottom cuff of the pair of trousers; and at least one fastener configured to selectively urge said cuff protection member inner layer toward said cuff protection outer layer so as to sandwich said respective bottom cuff therebetween.
 2. The clothing accessory as in claim 1, wherein said cuff protection sleeve inner layer includes an inner lower edge and said cuff protection sleeve outer layer includes an outer layer lower edge that is coupled to said inner layer lower edge so as to form a longitudinal axis, said cuff protection sleeve defining a folded configuration at which said outer layer and said inner layer are generally parallel to one another when folded about said longitudinal axis.
 3. The clothing accessory as in claim 2, wherein said cuff protection member inner layer has an inner layer upper edge and said cuff protection member outer layer has an outer layer upper edge that together define said cuff protection sleeve open top, said cuff protection sleeve open top being in communication with said cuff protection sleeve interior area.
 4. The clothing accessory as in claim 1, wherein said cuff protection sleeve includes a generally annular configuration.
 5. The clothing accessory as in claim 1, wherein said cuff protection sleeve includes a linear configuration having opposed ends, said opposed ends having fasteners configured to selectively engage one another to hold said cuff protection sleeve at a generally annular configuration.
 6. The clothing accessory as in claim 5, wherein said cuff protection sleeve is length adjustable.
 7. The clothing accessory as in claim 1, wherein said at least one fastener includes: a first plate member; a second plate member; and a connector portion coupling said first plate to said second plate, said connector portion having a flexible construction such that said first and said second plate members are selectively movable between a closed configuration in which said first and said second plate are relatively adjacent to one another and an open configuration in which said first and said second plate are relatively displaced from one another.
 8. The clothing accessory as in claim 7, wherein said first plate and said second plate of said at least one fastener include a magnet such that said fastener is normally biased toward said closed configuration.
 9. The clothing accessory as in claim 3, wherein said at least one fastener includes: a first plate member; a second plate member; a connector portion coupling said first plate to said second plate, said connector portion having a flexible construction such that said first and said second plate members are selectively movable between a closed configuration in which said first and said second plate are relatively adjacent to one another and an open configuration in which said first and said second plate are relatively displaced from one another.
 10. The clothing accessory as in claim 9, wherein said first plate and said second plate of said at least one fastener include a magnet such that said fastener is normally biased toward said closed configuration. 